Temples, shrines and gardens

For a trip to Japan built around temples, shrines and gardens, Kyoto is the base: four to five nights for Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari shrine, the Golden and Silver Pavilions, Arashiyama and two gardens that can only be visited by reservation, Katsura Imperial Villa and Saihō-ji. Nara is a day trip from Kyoto, Miyajima and its shrine standing over the sea take one or two nights, and Kanazawa and its Kenrokuen garden two or three. Tokyo adds Sensō-ji, Meiji Jingū and the gardens of the former Edo Castle.

Temple, shrine, garden: the basics

A temple, tera or -ji in Japanese, is Buddhist; a shrine, jinja, jingū or taisha, is Shintō, the religion of Japan's local deities. A shrine is recognisable by its torii, the gateway that marks its entrance. The gestures differ: at a shrine, you rinse your hands at the purification basin, then bow twice, clap twice and bow again; at a temple, you pray in silence, without clapping, and sometimes take your shoes off before entering the buildings. Our onsen, ryokan and etiquette guide explains these customs in detail.

Gardens are often visited with the temples: the moss garden of Saihō-ji, laid out in the 14th century by the Zen monk Musō Kokushi; the strolling gardens of the feudal lords, such as Kenrokuen in Kanazawa; the gardens of the shoguns' former residences in Tokyo.

Kyoto, district by district

Kyoto is best seen one district a day:

Fushimi Inari is the head shrine of Japan's 30,000 or so Inari shrines; it bans drones, eating while walking and photo stops that block the narrow paths. In Arashiyama, as at Fushimi Inari, carving marks into the bamboo is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 ¥ (about 1,692 €).

In Gion, since January 2024, residents, teahouses and Kennin-ji have asked visitors not to enter temples, shrines and private property without permission, and not to photograph a geiko, as geishas are called in Kyoto, or a maiko, their apprentice, without her consent. Trespassing is punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 ¥ (about 564 €).

What to book ahead

A few places limit visitor numbers and must be booked before you travel:

• Katsura Imperial Villa can only be visited with a guide. Online applications open at 5am on the 1st of the month, three months before the month of the visit: for April, on 1 January. English tours start at 9.20am, 11.20am, 1.20pm, 3.20pm and 4.20pm; the villa is closed on Mondays, on Tuesday when Monday is a public holiday, and from 28 December to 4 January.
• Saihō-ji, the moss temple, has admitted visitors only by reservation since 1977, at least the day before, in small groups. You first copy a sutra, a Buddhist text, then wander freely in the garden, about an hour in all.
• Myōryū-ji, in Kanazawa, is shown by guided tour only, by reservation, from 9am to 4pm, for 1,200 ¥ (about 7 €).
• The Mount Misen ropeway, on Miyajima, requires online booking on some busy days.

A private tea ceremony is also booked ahead: in Kyoto, Camellia hosts guests near Ryōan-ji, for 50 minutes, from 15,000 ¥ (about 85 €) per person, and in Higashiyama, for 45 minutes, from 8,000 ¥ (about 46 €).

Nara, a day in the park

Nara is 34 minutes from Kyoto by Kintetsu express. Its shrines and temples stand together in a 660-hectare park where deer roam freely. The Great Buddha Hall of Tōdai-ji, 48.7 m high, rebuilt in the Edo period, opens from 7.30am to 5.30pm from April to October and from 8am to 5pm from November to March, for 800 ¥ (about 5 €). Kasuga Taisha, backed by the primeval forest of Mount Kasuga, opens from 6.30am between March and October. Kōfuku-ji, the Fujiwara family temple moved to Nara in 710, takes cash only, and its five-storey pagoda is under scaffolding. Isuien garden, which combines an Edo-period garden and a Meiji-era garden, closes on Tuesdays.

Miyajima, the shrine on the sea

Itsukushima shrine, founded according to tradition in 593, was raised on piles over the sea in 1168; its great torii stands in the water. It opens at 6.30am and closes between 5pm and 6pm depending on the month, for 300 ¥ (about 2 €). The island is 25 minutes by train from Hiroshima and then 10 minutes by ferry, with a visitor tax of 100 ¥ (about 1 €). In the evening, a 30-minute cruise passes the illuminated shrine; our Hiroshima and Miyajima page has the details.

Kanazawa, Kenrokuen and the ninja temple

In Kanazawa, Kenrokuen garden opens from 7am to 6pm from 1 March to 15 October and from 8am to 5pm from 16 October to the end of February, for 320 ¥ (about 2 €); early in the morning, entry is free through the Hasuike-mon and Zuijinzaka gates. From 1 November to mid-December, the gardeners put up the yukitsuri, ropes that protect the branches from snow. Myōryū-ji, founded in 1643 by the Maeda family, hides trapdoors and secret staircases over four interior levels. At Gyokusen-en garden, the Saisetsu-tei teahouse holds a tea ceremony for 5,000 ¥ (about 29 €), to be booked three days ahead; the D. T. Suzuki Museum is devoted to the Zen Buddhist thinker.

Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka and Setoda

In Tokyo, Sensō-ji, in Asakusa, opens its main hall at 6am from April to September and at 6.30am from October to March. Meiji Jingū, founded in 1920, is surrounded by a 70-hectare forest. The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, laid out on the enclosures of Edo Castle, are free and closed on Mondays and Fridays; Hama-rikyū garden, created in 1654, has a seawater pond that rises and falls with the tide.

Along the way, other stops: the shrine at Hakone, with more than 1,260 years of history and a torii standing in Lake Ashi; in Osaka, Sumiyoshi Taisha, founded in 211 according to tradition, whose four main sanctuaries, rebuilt in 1810, are National Treasures; in Setoda, on the Seto Inland Sea, the three-storey pagoda of Kōjō-ji, built in 1432 and a National Treasure.

Staying near the temples

The Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka in 12 days itinerary gives three days to Kyoto and one to Nara; Kyoto, Miyajima and the art islands in 10 days spends two nights at Iwasō. Spring and autumn are the garden seasons: our cherry blossoms and autumn leaves page gives the dates.